Conspiracy of Angels by Michelle Belanger (Novels of the Shadowside #1)

8/10

Rather than Titan changing the books to look like UK paperbacks, they have kept the US size and an equally striking cover of Zach staring moodily into the reader with the exotic looking Saliriel behind toting her weapon, first in the Shadowside Saga, with Harsh Gods and The Resurrection Game being released later.

This novel has Zach Westland having to get away from someone who is hunting him. He hides away in the shadows hoping not to be seen when he wakes the next day with no knowledge of his name or who is chasing him. Staggering around on a motorway and manages to hitch a lift, but when Big Bill, his new trucker friend asks his name, he can't say. Taking him to his chosen destination, Zach has to find out who he is and can only do that by taking out his wallet. There he finds a few notes, a credit card and a driver's license, but another thing strikes him as odd, a single business card for a place called Club Heaven.

Once Zach tracks down this infamous club, he meets the flamboyant transsexual Saliriel "Sal" and for a reason not known to him, she isn't best pleased at his return. For ages, Belanger has kept Zach's true self hidden from the readers, and who can blame her as his true self is more dangerous and thrilling than any of us would expect.

The curious thing is Remy and Saliriel know Zach, but he still can't remember what had happened before, even when a bunch of cops tries to trash Saliriel's club. He is even more taken aback by Remy's polite gesture of giving Zach cash and keys to one of his safe houses where he can lay low for a while until he gets his memories back. So far, Remy is the only one who is being helpful, Saliriel's earlier outbursts still makes Zach wonder why she despises him so much. Bellanger is mainly known for her work in Paranormal State where she acts as a leading authority on the supernatural where she has written books on her findings; The Dictionary of Demons, Walking the Twilight Path and The Psychic Vampire Codex. These books have become part of university courses, TV shows and publications worldwide.

In this novel, Belanger uses what she has learned from her other novels to make a well-written piece of supernatural fiction where the Blood Wars loom and the dangerous supernatural beings can destroy all that he and his friends love. As part of the story concerns Zach's trying to get back his memory of who he is and why he's there, the rest of it is about the Blood Wars and the effect they have on the people around them. The reality of Zach's past becomes all too real once he does get his memories back, and it's only then he finds he might have been better off not knowing the truth. Chapter by chapter we get to hear more of Zach and what he will get himself into next, and it’s worthwhile sticking around right until the very end. With larger than life characters, eerie monsters and the good and bad coinciding, this is a thrilling novel of the Shadowside.